Long Beach State will look to make an impression in its first ever matchup with Alabama, while looking to stay undefeated lifetime against Duke and Saint Mary’s in this weekend’s Baden Invitational at the Walter Pyramid.
The 49ers expect their opponents, Alabama, Duke and Saint Mary’s, to come into this weekend’s opener hungry. But with a lot of new and young players on the team, the 49ers feel like they need to show that their potential is real.
“Basically [we need] to make a statement and prove that we’re here to play,” sophomore Ashley Murray said. “I know the opponents themselves are coming to make a statement and we’re not going to let them do that.”
The first opponent, Alabama, is coming off a record setting season of its own. The Crimson Tide set a new record for most wins (26-8, 13-5 in 2014) in a season and won its first ever NCAA tournament game in program history against Samford.
Unlike the 49ers, who come into this match with only three returning starters, Alabama is rolling back all of its starters from a year ago.
Alabama brings its own veteran presence in senior setter Sierra Wilson. The Anaheim native had a record-breaking season in 2014, racking up 1,529 total assists, the most in a single season in ‘Bama history.
The Beach will also face off against the No. 25 team in the country, the Duke Blue Devils, who went 22-8 and finished 14-4 in the ACC last season. The 49ers swept Duke in three sets in a 1997 matchup the last time they played.
Beating Duke on Saturday night might be a bigger challenge to overcome, as it returns 13 letter winners from 2014 and was ranked second in the NCAA in kills per set and assists per set. Senior outside hitter Emily Sklar, the 2013 ACC Player of the Year, is a key returner for the Blue Devils.
However LBSU’s head coach, Brian Gimmillaro, said that the 49ers will focus more on themselves rather than their foes.
“We don’t know much about [our opponents] at this time; we will next week so [for now] we’re just working on us,” Gimmillaro said. “[Alabama and Duke] are a returning squad so they’ll be confident, experienced and comfortable.”
The Beach will wrap up the weekend’s tourney against Saint Mary’s on Sunday afternoon. In 2014 Saint Mary’s had a dismal season finishing 9-19 overall and 5-13 in the West Coast Conference. The 49ers are 7-0 all time in matchups with the Gaels.
LBSU will host all of its opponents this weekend at the Walter Pyramid starting at 7 p.m. on Friday night against Alabama. The 49ers then move on to play Duke on Saturday at 5 p.m. and Saint Mary’s at 1 p.m. on Sunday.